RAWALPINDI: The district administration has imposed limited lockdowns in three areas, including a street that includes the home of the head of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).

Homes have been sealed in Chur Harpal, Bahria Phase VIII and RDA Colony. A survey has begun in the district to ascertain where the increased number of Covid-19 cases have come from.

Under the government’s ‘micro’ lockdowns, small localities such as a building with multiple units, streets and small neighbourhoods will be sealed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq told Dawn the administration has identified areas where these lockdowns have been imposed, adding: “The RDA director general’s house and three other houses have been locked down under the new policy.”

He said that the district administration has previously sealed homes to restrict the movement of Covid-19 patients to prevent them from visiting public places, and this would continue under the new policy.

Six more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, while eight patients recovered and no deaths were reported.

There are still 177 suspected patients waiting for their test results from laboratories in the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Holy Family Hospital (HFH), District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital and Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU).

Including the six new patients, Rawalpindi district has now reported 6,663 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 280 deaths and 6,233 recoveries.

There are 81 patients admitted to BBH, HFH, DHQ Hospital and RIU and 69 patients isolated in their homes.

Local administrations have also quarantined 276 people who are close contacts of previously confirmed patients.

According to data from the Rawalpindi division, 8,037 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since March, including 6,663 in Rawalpindi, 608 in Attock, 479 in Jheulm and 287 in Chakwal.

So far, 7,504 patients have recovered in the four districts; 6,233 in Rawalpindi, 556 in Attock, 465 in Jheulm and 250 in Chakwal.

There have been 346 deaths from Covid-19 in the Rawalpindi division, including 280 in Rawalpindi, 37 in Chakwal, 20 in Attock and nine in Jheulm.

Islamabad

The capital reported 16 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, a slight decrease from the last two days. There were 21 new cases reported on Sunday and 22 on Monday.

Officials from the capital administration said that 10 of the new patients are male and six are female.

There were 2,803 tests carried out in the city in the last 24 hours.

Three cases were reported in F-6, two cases each in I-8, D-12 and G-7, and one each in H-13, Golden Jubilee Housing Society, Ghouri Town, F-10, G-5, G-10 and F-8.

Islamabad has now reported 15,531 confirmed cases of Covid-19, officials said, of which 175 patients have died and 14,792 have recovered.

There are currently 564 active cases in the capital; 14 patients have been admitted to five hospitals in the city. Six of the patients are stable, five are on oxygen and three are on ventilators. The other patients are isolated in their homes.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020